Happy October 1st! I know that autumn officially arrived over a week ago, but even without a calendar, I could tell fall has fallen from these top 10 signs:

Before I rake…

1. Leaves, leaves, leaves. Okay, an obvious sign, I know, but once they start to turn, I really feel like we’ve made it to autumn. I enjoy seeing the colorful leaves on the branches, love crunching through them on my morning walk with Louie, and I don’t even mind the first round of picking them up. But then I end up racing to get that leafy carpet up… especially if rain’s in the forecast. Biceps at the ready, stretch out that lower back: let the raking begin.

2. The light is different. Everything about the light changes so quickly now. The darkness arrives earlier each night, and I notice it now. The dawn sleeps in a little longer each morning, and I notice that too (especially because it wreaks havoc on my morning routine of getting everyone up, ready and out the door).

But even more than that — have you noticed that the day’s light is different? It’s softer, warmer. Everything seems bathed in golden tones. It’s almost like autumn is finding a way to imprint sunshine and happiness on my memory as the days grow shorter. I love it.

3. Friday night lights. Football is back and baseball is winding down. We went to our high school’s homecoming game because M was playing in the band. We froze our keisters off sitting on the aluminum stands because I wasn’t prepared enough to bring a stadium blanket or, heaven help me, even E’s sit-upon.

4. New TV shows are on. Another obvious sign that we’re in fall. What are you most interested in watching? I missed the premiere of “Elementary” so I’ll try to catch up this week (side note: I really miss “Sherlock” and since its third season isn’t going to start until fall 2013 or so, I’m wondering if the CBS version can fill the void. Big shoes, though). Other than that, I’m liking “Revolution” along with the string of my normal favorites including “Parks and Rec,” “Modern Family,” and “Castle.”

I will say that I am waiting as patiently as I can for the new season of “Downton Abbey” to make it to the airwaves in the US on January 6th. Okay, so apparently I’m not terribly patient at all…

5. If new TV shows are on, guilt-free knitting time is back! I find that, aside from sneaking a few rows while I’m in the car waiting for kids, knitting during standard daylight hours carries with it the same sort of guilt as filching chocolate from the kids’ Halloween candy haul. If I sit down and knit, I’m probably ignoring something else. But when we’re all hunkered down on the couches around the TV, I can knit as much as I like without that horrible feeling that I should be doing something else.

I’ve got a hankering to start a million projects, but I’m going to try to contain my enthusiasm to some socks and my sweater.

A little swatch of the yarn reclaimed from the unravelled sweater…

And yes, technically, I knit that swatch during the day yesterday, but does such a little thing really count? 🙂

6. Outerwear is out in our house. See those hooks?

All summer long they held baseball hats and damp beach towels. Now, the hoodies and lightweight jackets have emerged from the depths of the foyer’s closet. Overnight we suddenly have a jacket on almost every hook.

7. The laundry has multiplied exponentially. See those piles?

That’s two days worth of dirty clothes.

I’m back to laundry as a way of life because summer’s shorts and lightweight T-shirts have given way to daily layers of t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, jeans plus socks. When it gets warmer in the afternoon, the kids sneak off to change into shorts again and toss their jeans in the wash…until they get cold when the sun goes down, so they throw on sweats. That’s like three outfits per kid per day. Sigh.

8. Quilts are more than pretty-looking covers.

My mom made us some beautiful quilts last year. Some are small lap-covers which are perfect for snuggling under while watching TV. In our bedroom and in E’s, the quilts are on year-round, but now as the nights cool off, I’m grateful to have such a lovely warm-yet-not-too-hot cover to pull up over the blanket.

9. Butternut squash. I can’t get enough of it. The orangey goodness even looks like fall, doesn’t it?

I’ve made butternut squash soup with apples last week and today, we’re having Three Sisters Stew for dinner. The recipe I’m using is from Robin Robertson’s Vegan on the Cheap cookbook. (No, we’re not vegan, but I really like the variety and flavors for these meatless meals. Delish!)

Three Sisters Stew in the crock-pot, baby!

10. Change in my tune. I like to listen to something when I’m cooking — the news, a baseball game, or some songs from my iPod. Each season I tend to listen to one song as a subconscious anthem of sorts — this year, it was Zac Brown Band’s “Knee Deep” on infinite loop all summer long.

Today, when I was chopping and tossing veggies into the crock pot, I realized that I was replaying “I Will Wait” by Mumford & Sons. New season, new song.

I think I originally found a great recipe for it in another vegan cookbook, but I’ve been making it from memory for a while. I’ll see if I can’t find the original source, but if not, I’ll try to post how I make it.

At the beginning of every fall, I think someone is playing some sort of laundry-trick on me. I always think there’s just no WAY a family of 5 could create so many dirty clothes each day. It’s like “Fall Fool’s Day” each year.